As many of you know, I grew up in Texas (just north of Waco) but I live in California now. Food here is MUCH different than Texas! When I go back there are 3 things I want: 1) chicken fried steak, 2) BBQ, and 3) Tex-Mex. So that’s what I recommend that you try. But there are so many more Waco restaurants to choose from. I asked my family and friends to share their favorites for this list. If you have more, leave a comment!
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Our Family’s Favorite Waco Restaurants
American / Home Cooking
- The Magnolia Table || Chip and Joanna’s new restaurant is now open! We plan to go in July and I’ll share pictures and write about our trip when we get back. I’m excited since we grew up eating at the Elite Cafe! And get the Magnolia Table cookbook to try out the recipes at home.
- Cafe Homestead || I heard this is one of Joanna’s favorite places to eat.
- Jake’s Texas Tea House || Classic homestyle fare.
- George’s O || Voted the best chicken fried steak in Waco for 12 years in a row! Don’t let the decor scare you off… the food is great!
- Luby’s || Gotta include Luby’s… it’s my dad’s favorite!
Barbeque Restaurants in Waco
There are a LOT more BBQ restaurants in Waco that I didn’t list. If you’ve been to a good one, leave a comment below and I’ll add it to the list.
- Rudy’s Country Store and BBQ || Barbeque by the pound. We always buy a bottle of Sissy Sauce and Rudy’s Rub while we’re there. Can’t get that in California!
- Vitek’s BBQ || Get the “Gut Pack”. Chip took the kids here on this episode of Fixer Upper. See more photos from my trip there… and get my opinion of the restaurant HERE.
- Tony del Maria’s Bar-be-Que
- Jasper’s BBQ
- Red Wagon Bar-be-que
Mexican Restaurants in Waco
- Chuy’s || Tex Mex. Known for their “big as yo face” burritos.
- Torchy’s Tacos || Tacos, of couse!
- Ninfa’s || More delicious Mexican food.
Where to Get a Burger in Waco
- Twisted Root Burger Company ||
- Health Camp || Don’t let the name fool you! They’ve been serving burgers, fries, and shakes since 1949.
- In & Out Burger ||
Sandwich Shops in Waco
- Newk’s Eatery || My sister-in-law recommends the chicken salad.
- Schmaltz’s || Another of Joanna’s favorites… She say’s they’re the “best sandwiches in town”.
Pizza in Waco
I personally, wouldn’t recommend pizza in Waco but I’ve got some nephews and nieces that would eat pizza ANYWHERE. If you’ve got someone in your group like that, here’s the pizza parlors that my family recommended.
- Double Dave’s Pizzaworks || Hand-tossed and specialty pizzas. Buffet. (This one gets my nieces’ & nephew’s favorite.)
- Poppa Rollo’s Pizza || Serving pizza since 1969!
Food Trucks in Waco
- at the Magnolia Market silos
- at university and Franklin near Spice Village (especially Xristos, the Greek truck!)
If you enjoyed reading about Waco restaurants, you might also like these articles:
- 25 Things to do in Waco
- 27 of the Best Vintage & Antique Stores in Waco
- Our Tour of Waco
- Our Simple Texas Chili Recipe
- Lunch at Farm Luck, Waxahachie, TX
Thanks for reading! And don’t forget to leave a comment if you have another favorite Waco restaurant. Thanks!
‘Til the next market,
Ann @ Duct Tape and Denim
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nfdone
It’ll be interesting to see how you made out at the Magnolia. Some friends of mine were in Waco a month ago. They arrived at 10:30 and were put on a 3 hour waiting list for lunch! Yikes! I think I’d choose one of the other restaurants on your list. My friend said the food was OK but nothing special but at least she had the Magnolia experience.
EEEEEEEEEEkkkkk…. We’re planning to go on Thursday. We were hoping that the crowd would be lower now. We already talked about what to do if it’s a super long wait. I’m not waiting 3 hours for lunch! We’ll either go to the carry out section or go somewhere else. I love trying out new places so I’ll try to convince my family to go somewhere new.
Cheryl, We went to Waco Thursday. We saw a cajun restaurant near Magnolia Market and decided to eat there instead of going over to the Table. We dropped by after that just to get a look at it and check out the take out area. When we walked up a greeter met us and told us that they weren’t even putting any more people on their waiting list! The waiting list was longer than the amount of time they were going to be open! Glad we went somewhere else. BTW… Cajun Craft is a GREAT place to eat. Pretty small, but the food was amazing!
Oh no! That’s quite some waiting list! Can’t serve y’all before closing time so no more people added to the list. That Cajun restaurant sounded a whole lot better anyway.
This reminds me of back in the mid nineties a new restaurant opened in Las Vegas called The Dive. Steven Spielberg was one of the owners and the restaurant interior was designed to give diners the feeling of being inside a submarine. Atmosphere thing. We arrived around 8pm and had a 45 minute wait. And yes it was fun decor with leaky pipes and aquariums with fish swimming behind portholes. The food was priced about the same as any other city in North America but a little above average for Las Vegas. And it was just average food, nothing special. You’re paying for the experience. You could eat just about anywhere else in Las Vegas for cheaper plus no wait. Back then at least. Vegas has upped its dining out game since then and priced more in line with everywhere else. Anyway that restaurant eventually took a dive and closed.
It’s not a restaurant, but you have to add Heritage Creamery to the list! (Thanks to your sister for that recommendation on our recent trip!) It’s an adorable little old-fashioned ice cream parlor. They serve ice cream in bowls or waffle cones, as well as offering cookies, ice cream sandwiches (made with your choice of ice cream and cookies), shakes, and floats. Their ice cream is homemade using milk from a local dairy. Most of their ingredients are locally sourced and so their flavors change according to what is in season with the local farmers. They also make their own cookies & their own waffle cones. Tastes of all available ice cream flavors are free. So you can try them all before you decide! If you like ice cream, this is a must stop on a visit to Waco!!
oh yeah… I thought that was on my other list of things to do in Waco, but I guess it’s not. I’ve been there… delicious! I guess I need to make another list of places for snacks (ice cream, coffee, doughnuts,etc…)